Number 2/2010

The Czech Republic’s fi rst true supercomputer on the waySector Focus

Legal Aspects of the Subsidy Process in Connection with OPRDIAFI Insight

88

12-1312-13

South Moravia Region Region Focus

Custom drugs for everyoneSector Focus

77

4-54-5

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18-1918-19

Czech technology across the worldEvents

First annual Cooperation of the Year awards Events

20-2120-21

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CZECH F CUSM a g a z i n e o f t h e A s s o c i a t i o n f o r F o r e i g n I n v e s t m e n t

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The promising future of Czech scienceSector Focus

New nanomaterials centre to be established in LiberecSector Focus

The promising future

of Czech science

CEZ GROUP www.cez.cz

YOUR RELIABLE PARTNER

CEZ-your-reliable-partner-218x305.indd 1 19.2.2010 11:57:29

1>> Foreword

Czech FocusPrague2/2010, September 2010MK ČR E 18872Association for Foreign InvestmentŠtěpánská 11120 00, Prague 263835339

Title:Place of issue: Number and date of issue: Ref. no.:Publisher:

Identification No.:

Miroslava Kopicová,Former Minister of Education of the Czech Republic

For more information, please contact:

Association for Foreign Investment (AFI)Stepanska 11, 120 00 Praha 2, Czech RepublicPhone: (+420) 224 911 750 Fax: (+420) 224 911 779www.afi.cz

masthead

Dear Readers,Our society has no other option than to be an education soci-ety whose prosperity is to a great extent built on the knowledge triangle (education, science and research, innovation) and competi-tiveness. The Operational Programme Research and Development for Innovations (OPRDI) represents a substantial incentive in this area. When I entered the offi ce of Minister of Education, I made it one of my tasks to stabilise the preparation of utilising European funds. I venture to assert that this was a successful endeavour. At this time, we have had eleven important science projects approved and more will follow. The Czech Republic has the not insignifi cant amount of EUR 2.4 billion available until 2013. In the area of R&D, the Czech Republic has long had problems con-sisting in, for example, a lack of innovation projects and the exo-dus of outstanding scientists and researchers to other countries. Understandably, fi nancing is one of the main causes of these problems. The Operational Programme Research and Development for Innova-tions offers us an exceptional opportunity in this area. It is the fourth-biggest programme to draw funding from EU structural funds and the only one that primarily supports science and research.

We recently fi nished receiving projects within the call relating to in-formation infrastructure. Five projects are set to receive CZK 800 million for modern equipment that will enable research institutions to, for example, share and archive large volumes of data. The fi nal phase of deciding on support for projects requesting aid for renovation, con-struction and equipment of regional research centres and European centres of excellence is now underway. Out of the 74 submitted projects, a total of 38 have been recommended for fi nancing following a demanding international evaluation. A total of CZK 28 billion will be distributed to the winning projects. All of this is good news for the Czech R&D sector. I believe that by 2013, when OPRDI comes to an end, you will hear such news even more often.

Miroslava Kopicová,Former Minister of Education

of the Czech Republic

2 >> AFI News

VCES PROPERTY DEVELOPMENTVCES PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT pro-

vides turnkey project implementation for end-users. Turnkey project implementation includes, among other things, the following activities: identifi cation, understanding and implementa-tion of the client’s needs; location of suitable land plots; projects management from the initial project phase through handover to the end-user with a commitment to adhere to the implemen-tation costs and time schedule; and identifi cation of the most appropriate fi nancial structure and technical solution for the project. The company uses knowledge and experience gained from its membership in the France-based international Bouygues group.

Dr. Kaufmann & PartnerDr. Kaufmann & Partner is a member of the

global Amrop group, which represents a global network of executive search fi rms. Through its 89 branches in 57 countries, Amrop pro-vides executive search, board consulting and management assessment services and helps to fi nd leaders around the world. The company’s values are built on the knowledge of context, senior experience and cooperation of its global network.

DHL Supply ChainDHL is the world’s largest provider of inter-

national express-delivery and logistics services. The company operates in 220 countries, where it applies its expert knowledge and extensive experience in the areas of express, air, maritime and ground transport and contract logistics, as well as international postal services. Further-more, DHL offers worldwide coverage and de-tailed knowledge of local markets.

DHL Supply Chain Česká republika provides services to customers from its distribution centres located mainly in the Prague and Brno areas. The company’s client portfolio includes a range of highly respected fi rms in various sec-tors. Specialists in logistics serve customers in the automotive and technology sectors as well as clients in the areas of fast-moving consumer goods, retail sales and fashion.

The Association for Foreign The Association for Foreign Investment introduces new membersInvestment introduces new members

Contact:

Zděbradská 67Říčany – Jažlovice 251 01Phone: + 420 323 612 107E-mail: supplychain.cz@dhl.comwww.dhl.cz/cs.html

Contact:

Na Harfě 337/3Prague 9 – Vysočany, 190 05Phone: + 420 226 056 105E-mail: vcespd@vces.czwww.vcespd.cz

Contact:

Týn 5Prague 1, 110 00Phone: + 420 224 895 700E-mail: offi ce@kaufmann-partner.comwww.kaufmann-partner.com

The Association for Foreign Investment (AFI), which represents a group of renowned Czech and foreign companies providing a broad range of professional services in all phases of the investment process, has welcomed aboard three new

members in the past half-year. Our new members’ profiles, including contacts and information on provided services, are presented below.

Main Activity:Project and Construction Management

Main Activities:Management RecruitmentHuman-Resources Consulting and Recruitment

Additional Activity:Management Advisory Services

Main Activities:Logistics ServicesManagement Advisory ServicesRe-engineering - Improvement of Company Proceses

Additional Activities:Real Estate ConsultingIndustrial Advisory

3>> AFI News

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AECOM CZ, Trojská 92, 171 00 Praha 7 tel.: +420 283 090 653, offi ce@aecom.cz, www.aecom.cz

■ ■ ■

AIG/LINCOLN, V Parku 2343/24, 148 00, Praha tel: +420 246 085 810, dackiw@aiglincoln.cz, www.aiglincoln.cz ■ ■ ■ ●

American Appraisal, Lomnického 1705/9, 140 00 Praha 4 tel.: +420 226 539 640, aacz@american-appraisal.com, www.american-appraisal.cz ■ ■ ■ ■

ARCADIS, Na Strži 1702/65, 140 62 Praha 4 tel.: +420 296 330 111, info@arcadispm.cz, www.arcadispm.cz ■ ■ ●

ASB Prague, V Celnici 1031/4, 110 00 Praha 1 tel.: +420 224 931 367, asbprague@asbprague.com, www.asbprague.com ■ ■ ●

ATELIER TSUNAMI, Palachova 1742, 547 01 Náchod tel.: +420 491 401 611, nachod@atsunami.cz, www.atsunami.cz ■ ■

BUREAU VERITAS CZECH REPUBLIC, Olbrachtova 1, 140 02 Praha 4 tel.: +420 210 088 200, mail@bureauveritas.cz, www.bureauveritas.cz ■ ■ ■ ■ ●

Colliers International, Vodičkova 710/31, 110 00 Praha 1 tel.: +420 266 537 618, prague@colliers.cz, www.colliers.cz ■

CTP Invest, Central Trade Park D1 1571, 396 01 Humpolec tel.: +420 565 535 565, info@ctpinvest.cz, www.ctpark.eu ■ ■ ●

CzechInvest, Štěpánská 15, 120 00 Praha 2, tel.: +420 296 342 500, info@czechinvest.org, www.czechinvest.org ●

DHL Supply Chain, Zděbradská 67, 251 01 Říčany – Jažlovice tel.: + 420 323 612 107, supplychain.cz@dhl.com, www.dhl.cz/cs.html ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Dr. Kaufmann & Partner, Týn 5, 110 00 Praha 1 tel.: + 420 224 895 700, offi ce@kaufmann-partner.com, www.kaufmann-partner.com ■ ■ ■

ENVIROS, Na Rovnosti 2246/1, 130 00 Praha 3 tel.: +420 284 007 498, offi ce@enviros.cz, www.enviros.cz ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ●

Ernst & Young, Karlovo nám. 2097/10, 120 00 Praha 2 tel.: +420 225 335 111, ernstyoung.cz@cz.ey.com, www.ey.com/cz ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Gleeds Česká republika, Konviktská 30, 110 00 Praha 1 tel.: +420 222 899 111, gleeds.prague@gleeds.cz, www.gleeds.com ■

Grafton Recruitment, Palladium, Na Poříčí 3a, 110 00 Praha 1 tel.: +420 242 456 400, info@grafton.cz, www.grafton.cz ■ ■

HAVEL & HOLÁSEK, Týn 1049/3, 110 00 Praha 1 tel.: +420 224 895 950, offi ce@havelholasek.cz, www.havelholasek.cz ■

HOCHTIEF Development CR, Karla Engliše 3201/6, 150 00 Praha 5 tel: +420 233 081 952, jakub.mikulasek@hochtief.de, www.hochtief-development.cz ■ ■ ■

CHEMOPRAG, Na Babě 1526/35, 160 00 Praha 6 tel.: +420 233 007 112, sekretariat@chemoprag.cz, www.chemoprag.cz ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Investorsko inženýrská, Gorkého 658/15, 460 01 Liberectel.: + 420 485 253 333, ii@iias.cz, www.iias.cz ■ ■ ■ ■ ●

Kinstellar, Palác Myslbek, Na Příkopě 19, 117 19 Praha 1 tel.: +420 221 622 111, kamil.blazek@kinstellar.com, www.kinstellar.com ■ ■

Kovoprojekta Brno, Šumavská 416/15, 602 00 Brno tel.: +420 532 153 111, kovoprojekta@kovoprojekta.cz, www.kovoprojekta.cz ■ ■ ■ ■ ●

KPMG Česká republika, Pobřežní 1a, 186 00 Praha 8 tel.: +420 222 123 111, kpmg@kpmg.cz, www.kpmg.cz ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ●

Noerr, Na Poříčí 1079/3a, 110 00 Praha 1 tel.: +420 233 112 111, recepce@noerr.com, www.noerr.com ■ ■ ■ ■

NWD Legal, European Business Center, Dukelských hrdinů 564/34, 170 00 Praha 7 - Holešovice tel.: +420 224 215 221, info@nwd-legal.com, www.nwd-legal.com ■ ■ ■ ■

PETERKA & PARTNERS, Na Příkopě 15/583, 110 00 Praha 1 tel: +420 246 085 300, offi ce@peterkapartners.cz, www.peterkapartners.cz ■ ■

PricewaterhouseCoopers ČR, Kateřinská 40, 120 00 Praha 2 tel.: +420 251 151 111, pricewaterhousecoopers.cz@cz.pwc.com, www.pwc.com/cz ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

PSG, Napajedelská 1552, 765 02 Otrokovice, tel.: +420 576 015 406, international@psg.cz, www.psg.eu ■ ■ ■

Skanska Property Czech Republic, Bredovský dvůr, Olivova 2096/4, 110 00 Praha 1, tel.: +420 224 506 111, property@property.skanska.cz, www.skanska.cz/property ■

Tebodin Czech Republic, Prvního pluku 224/20, 186 59 Praha 8 tel.: +420 251 038 111, info@tebodin.cz, www.tebodin.cz ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Technoprojekt, Havlíčkovo nábřeží 38, 730 16 Ostrava tel.: +420 597 464 201, info@technoprojekt.cz, www.technoprojekt.cz ■ ■ ■

TÜV SÜD Czech, Novodvorská 994, 142 21 Praha 4 tel.: +420 239 046 800, info@tuv-sud.cz, www.tuv-sud.cz ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

VCES PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT, Na Harfě 337/3, 190 05 Praha 9 – Vysočanytel.: + 420 226 056 105, vcespd@vces.cz, www.vcespd.cz ■

Weinhold Legal, Karlovo nám. 10, 120 00 Praha 2 tel.: +420 225 385 333, wl@weinholdlegal.com, www.weinholdlegal.com ■

AFI members and their services

■ Main Activity ■ Additional Activity ● Other Activity

4 >> Sector Focus

The promising future of Czech scienceThe state of science and research in the

Czech Republic has recently been spoken of in terms of the low number of innovation projects and the frequent outfl ow of scientifi c capacities to other countries. Both problems are closely related to the much criticised fact that there is insuffi cient investment in research and devel-opment necessary for innovation, even though in today’s globalised economy innovation represents the main competitive advantage of advanced economies.

Therefore research, development and in-novation have become priorities of politi-cians and economists not only at the national level, but also on the European level. Subsidies from certain structural funds represent one possibility for supporting economic competi-tiveness through investment in innovation. These selected funds include the Operational Programme Research and Development for Innovation (OPRDI), which is the fourth-biggest programme in the Czech Republic draw-ing fi nancial resources from structural funds. Although the programme was approved by the European Commission in 2008 and there has thus been an obvious delay in its implemen-tation in comparison with other Operational Programmes, by today the Ministry of Education had approved fourteen scientifi c projects and more will follow. Support for investment in in-novation is thus beginning to develop promisingly and will continue – by 2013 the Czech Republic should have a total of EUR 2.4 billion available to support research and innovation.

Example for EuropeSeveral world-renowned scientifi c capaci-

ties and a range of acclaimed as well as lesser-known inventions and patents have originated in the Czech Republic. Thanks to subsidies from the European Union, it is possible to build on this tradition of innovation and to not only sup-port science at the regional level, but also to en-sure that the country’s scientifi c capacities are internationally competitive. Supported activities within the Operational Programme Research and Development for Innovation therefore in-volve maximum effort to ensure that there is suffi cient space and resources for the establish-ment and development of top-quality science centres – from construction and modernisation of infrastructure to development and innovation of instruction and technology transfer.

This programme is characterised by sys-temic innovation incorporated into the imple-mentation of the programme itself – projects involving research centres undergo not only Czech but also international evaluation ac-cording to the best international practices. In March 2010, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport hosted nearly eighty leading scientists from 16 countries who evaluated the projects with the greatest future benefi t for the Czech Republic. The evaluation was considered to be rather demanding, yet very effective and transparent. Projects valued at hundreds of millions of crowns, which will de-termine the direction that the Czech Repub-lic will take in the area of innovation, proved their worth.

More than EUR 800 million for research centres

There are several areas that can be fi nanced from the programme. A total of EUR 806 million has been earmarked to support Eu-ropean centres of excellence, which combine theoretical and applied research while devel-oping world-class technologies. The objective of supporting centres of excellence is prima-rily to provide the best research teams with the necessary material conditions not only for creating new technologies and scientifi c disci-plines, but also to establish contacts and stra-tegic partnerships with international partners. Among other results, this will lead to the ac-celeration of transferring new technologies and introducing know-how into practice. Centres of excellence combine research and educational activities, thus training the stu-dents and young scientists who represent the future of Czech research and development.

A call for submission of applications within OPRDI was conducted through mid-Novem-ber 2009 in which universities and research institutes based outside of Prague could ap-ply for subsidies for renovation, construction, equipment and operation of such centres. A total of “only” 15 projects were registered, though the total requested allocation amount-ed to more than CZK 28 billion.

Nine projects successfully underwent the demanding OPRDI evaluation process. Of these, fi ve were large projects in which the total costs of each project exceed EUR 50 million. The fi nal evaluation phase is cur-

The promising The promising future future of Czech of Czech science science

5

ways to achieve this objective is to support Science Learning Centres as well as small-er visitors’ centres which will interactively and entertainingly familiarise visitors with science.

Other activities that reinforce the centres of excellence and regional research centres involve ensuring the availability of scientific information, improving the supporting in-formation infrastructure and, of no less importance, creating suitable conditions for the successful commercialisation of re-search and development results within re-search organisations and the application sphere (pursuant to the recently prepared call, aid will be focused primarily on the establishment, development and opera-tion of centres). The Czech Republic has approximately EUR 251 million available for these activities.

From the above-mentioned activities, the Ministry of Education is currently deal-ing with projects requesting aid in the area of information infrastructure for research and development. Within the call, which was opened at the end of April 2009 and in which a total of CZK 800 is being dis-bursed, five projects were registered with a requested allocation of more than CZK 1 billion. Projects focused on the construc-tion of science-learning centres and visitor centres were accepted from 1 May to 30 June. A total of 32 project applications were registered. The winning projects will share CZK 2.2 billion.

Modern universitiesThe last, though no less important, area on

which European Union subsidies for science and research are focused is development of infrastructure for university-level instruction combined with research. More than EUR 400 million is intended for renovation and modern-isation (or construction, though only in justifi ed cases) of universities’ infrastructure, acquisi-tion of modern information and communica-tion technologies, provision of access to scien-tifi c information, and construction of teaching laboratories, classrooms, offi ces and libraries, among other activities, which will contribute to the improvement of conditions for tertiary education.

A continual call running until the end of December 2010 has been issued in this area. Twenty-nine projects requesting nearly CZK 1 billion have been registered so far. A Deci-sion to Grant a Subsidy has been issued for one project, submitted by Brno University of Technology, which will receive a total of CZK 991,547,335.

EU Operational Funds Administration Section, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport

>> Sector Focus

rently underway; the initial projects should be defi nitively approved in autumn 2010. Large projects will additionally be submit-ted for approval by the European Commis-sion.

The result of this call, i.e. a smaller volume of projects with a signifi cant allocation of fi nancing, completely fulfi ls the strategy of OPRDI. In a small country such as the Czech Republic, it is not possible to excel in all sectors, and thus it is necessary to integrate and concentrate human, fi nancial and technological capacities in order to create a strong background for numerically limited yet high-quality centres of internationally recognised research.

CEITEC, ICRC or IT4Innovations offer good examples of strategic large projects whose total costs exceed CZK 50 million.

Thirteen regional research centres receiving support

As in the previous case, the amount of EUR 806 million has been allocated to support regional science and research centres. Like centres of excellence, these institutions are focused not only on top-level research itself, but also on the immediate usability of research results in practice. This means that they are of-ten cooperating on research activities directly with the application sphere, i.e. companies and clusters as well as, for example, hospitals and other institutions which apply research fi ndings in real-world scenarios. With their scope, these centres have a rather regional fo-cus, though they must fulfi l more far-reaching

goals of the Operational Programme Research and Development for Innovations (OPRDI), i.e. cultivation of the future generation of re-searchers and, primarily, development of top-quality science leading to innovations.

Within the fi rst call of OPRDI, a total of twelve regional research centres received aid in the amount of more than six billion crowns.

The amount of CZK 11 billion has been al-located for the programme’s second call, in which 59 projects were submitted with a total aid request of approximately CZK 30 billion. Twenty-nine projects have successfully under-gone the assessment in which Czech and in-ternational science capacities took part. Within this call, two projects have already received aid in the amount of nearly CZK 1 billion.

Science? Entertainment?Besides ensuring the material background

for research together with support for top-level scientific capacities, OPRDI considers increasing the attractiveness of science to be of fundamental importance for the Czech Republic’s future development. Without the perception of science and research as an at-tractive or “sexy” field, it will be difficult to build up sufficient motivation and interest among the young people who will be respon-sible for innovation in the Czech Republic in future. Therefore, creating a positive and at-tractive image of science among the general public and increasing the appeal of research are among the priorities on which OPRDI is currently focusing. One of the possible

Illustrative photo

6 >> Sector Focus

for which TUL received aid in the amount of roughly CZK 800 million, will take four years.

The centre with fi ve above-ground and two underground fl oors will be built on the site of two buildings marked for demolition. Current research facilities will be concentrated in the new building. The new centre will also provide space for new areas of research, which will be conducted in 18 planned laboratories and will primarily focus on nanomaterials and applications thereof in, for example, the areas of fi ltration, ground-water decontamination, medicine, etc. Research will also focus on the competitiveness of mechanical engineering, for example in the area of new machine motors and safe machinery designs, as well as progressive technologies for processing technical materials.

The Technical University of Liberec now has enormous potential in this area in terms of its technological background and personnel. For example, a new nanotechnology bachelor’s programme and related master’s programme in the nanomaterials department were recently accredited.

“We are a technical school, so we cultivate specialists to work in these areas. Our success is evidenced by the interest we have received from industry. We cover roughly 40% of the school’s costs through joint projects with private compa-nies, which on the Czech scale is an outstand-ing result,” says Zdeněk Kůs, chancellor of the Technical University of Liberec.

The new nanotechnology centre will function similarly. Its objective is to build an experimen-

tal workplace which with its top-quality equip-ment and personnel will support the innovation activities of the region’s economic sphere over the long term. The fi rst four-year phase of the project will involve construction and acquisi-tion of equipment while concurrently launching research activities. After this initial four-year period, the project will have to begin earning money, not only to pay its employees, but also to purchase new instruments. It will be neces-sary to collect an estimated CZK 100 million to 150 million annually from various sources.

“It will be diffi cult, but we are confi dent. If we didn’t believe in the project, we wouldn’t build it. We are already receiving interest from a range of private companies that want to use the centre for their own research projects,” says Professor Kůs.

Researchers at the centre will have access to top-quality equipment. The acquisition of dozens of special instruments with aid money has already begun. In May 2010, Chancellor Zdeněk Kůs signed a purchase contract on delivery of a microdurometer with a nanodu-rometer module for the thin-layer laboratory at a cost of CZK 3 million and on machinery for the progressive engineering technologies labo-ratory for roughly CZK 4 million. Much of the equipment will be unique, at least in the Czech Republic.

Jaroslava Kočárková,PR and Communication Manager

Technical University of Liberec

The Technical University of Liberec will invest several tens of millions of euros in the construc-tion of completely new laboratories for work-ing with nanotechnologies, advanced materials and precision engineering. The winner of the public tender, Metrostav a.s., begun construc-tion of the Centre for Nanomaterials, Advanced Technologies and Innovation in summer 2010. According to the contract, the building must be ready within 66 weeks from the date of hando-ver of the building site. The new centre will cost CZK 310 million.

In the world of science, the Technical University of Liberec is connected primarily with nanofi bres. Some time ago, a team led by Professor Oldřich Jirsák of TUL developed the principle of industrial production of nanofi bres and, in cooperation with the Liberec-based fi rm Elmarco, the university constructed the fi rst machine capable of producing nanofi bres in industrial volumes and which Elmarco is now successfully marketing. Construction of a re-search centre with top-quality equipment will give TUL a modern facility for science and research and strengthen its position as a spe-cialised institution focusing on the development of progressive technologies.

The new Centre for Nanomaterials, Advanced Technologies and Innovation is one of ten successful projects that have received fund-ing for implementation within the fi rst call of the Operational Programme Research and Development for Innovation (OPRDI) under the title Regional R&D Centres. The entire project,

New nanomaterials centre New nanomaterials centre to be established in Liberecto be established in Liberec

Visualisation of the new Centre for Nanomaterials

7>> Sector Focus

therapy, as well as the establishment of a na-tional platform for chemical biology and drug development.

Besides university research, the centre will also be available to private enterprises, which will be able to lease time there and use BIOMEDREG’s expertise for their own projects. In light of the centre’s focus, these will most commonly be companies operating in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and chemical industries.

For example, a group of several Chinese com-panies came to Olomouc at the end of 2009. “The information we received truly surprised us. You will be an important partner for our operation,” said Zhan Hongqi, the attaché for science and research at the Chinese Embassy in the Czech Republic.

“Research in Olomouc is strong particularly in the area of fi nding drugs for treating cancer,” says Hajdúch. “The farthest advanced is perhaps research of a derivative of Olomoucin called Roskovitin, which is currently being tested in Scotland with the aim of determining the type of disease for which it is best suited.”

According to Hajdúch, the centre’s com-mercial potential is very broad, as a new drug’s potential is often manifested in a completely dif-ferent area than that envisaged by the scientists who developed it. “For example, we worked

on a drug intended for treating prostate cancer. In the end, however, we found that it is very suitable for patients who suffer from excessive hair loss. You never know in advance how a par-ticular drug can surprise you,” Hajdúch adds.

Besides Palacký University, the basis of BIOMEDREG also consists of the Faculty Hospital in Olomouc, the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague. Approximately 130 Czech and foreign scientists should be involved in the new centre’s work.

ed.

Custom development of drugs for every pa-tient will be the primary mission of the research and work carried out by the BIOMEDREG medical centre in the eastern Czech city of Olomouc. The project is being prepared by Palacký University in Olomouc at a cost of several tens of millions of euros.

Construction of the centre will begin this year and should be completed within four years. The main part of the project will involve the construction of the new Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine. Equipping the cen-tre with the necessary instruments and devices is expected to cost up to EUR 20 million.

“Today medicine is increasingly focusing on customised therapies prepared for each individ-ual patient. However, the development of drugs and their deployment in everyday treatment can take years. The objective of the BIOMEDREG centre is to shorten this period as much as pos-sible at least in the case of some preparations and to bring developed drugs to clinical trials faster so that they can help patients sooner,” says BIOMEDREG manager Marián Hajdúch, explaining the centre’s primary mission.

The centre’s main areas of research will be the study of the mechanisms by which cancer and infectious diseases originate and are treated, identifi cation of new goals, biomarkers and diagnostic processes focusing on individualised

Custom drugs Custom drugs for everyonefor everyone

Visualisation of the BIOMEDREG

Visualisation of the BIOMEDREG

8 >> Sector Focus

A supercomputer approaching the per-formance of the world’s top one hundred most powerful computers will be in operation within four years in Ostrava, in the Moravia-Silesia region. The Technical University of Ostrava (TUO) is planning to set up equip-ment with computing power of just under 1 PetaFlop/s.

Roughly one-third of the computer time will be available for lease to other research organisations in the Czech Republic and to commercial projects. Potential users will regularly vie for access to this computer time within a grant competition. Submitted projects will be assessed according to their scientifi c quality and application potential. Twenty percent of the available computing power will be reserved for use by research infrastructures of national signifi cance, which include particularly the CzechGlobe project focusing on, among other things, the develop-ment and operation of climate models. The remaining capacity will be used within internal research programmes of the IT4Innovations project.

“We already have confi rmed interest from more than fi fty fi rms that want to use the supercomputer,” says Martin Duda, project manager and director of the TUO Project Support Centre. “We anticipate that the most frequent customers will be mainly companies in the mechanical-engineering sector and the

pharmaceutical, chemical and steel industries, as well as from the automotive industry.”

If a customer does not have its own spe-cialists, it can use the services of research-ers from the IT4Innovations centre and the Supercomputer Centre’s user-support team, who will help to translate the clients’ ideas into concrete tasks that can be handled as ef-fectively as possible on the supercomputer.

The budget of the entire IT4Innovations project amounts to EUR 75 million, whereas the costs of the supercomputer technology it-self account for EUR 26 million of this amount. The university is the investor, though the European Union is assisting with the greater part of the costs.

“We will use the supercomputer for simula-tions of fl ooding, accidents and similar events, for example,” explains Professor Ivo Vondrák, chancellor of TUO. “In connection with the use of our applications, we thus anticipate many instances focused on the integrated system of crisis management and traffi c con-trol.”

“We expect interesting results also in the area of emulating algorithms that function in nature. There is room here for using genetic algorithms, evolutionary programming, ant-colony and pack theories, artifi cial neuron networks, etc. Algorithms originating in this manner will enable optimisation of existing processes in previously unknown ways. In or-

der for them to function, you need truly high-performance hardware – and that is what we are now building,” Vondrák adds.

The partners of the project, whose core will be the supercomputer centre, are Moravian and Silesian universities and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic: the Technical University of Ostrava, University of Ostrava, Silesian University in Opava, Brno University of Technology, and the Institute of Geonics of the Academy of Sciences.

The new supercomputer’s exact parameters will depend on the current development of computer technologies. “The supercomputer will be ready at the turn of 2014/2015. We an-ticipate that as soon as we start the computer, it will be among the top hundred most power-ful machines in the world. We expect that this will mean performance of around 855 TFlop/s, a level at which only the world’s fi ve best supercomputers perform today,” Duda adds.

The IT4Innovations centre of excellence will create roughly 200 jobs in Moravia and Silesia for top-level scientists from around the world. The project, which in addition to the supercomputer also involves the construction of a new building in which to house it, takes into consideration the necessity of regularly updating the system to keep it a state-of-the-arte piece of technology.

ed.

The Czech Republic’s The Czech Republic’s fi rst true supercomputer on the wayfi rst true supercomputer on the way

The Technical University of Ostrava (TUO)

9>> Sector Focus

Thanks to aid drawn for European Union struc-tural funds, a top-rate, inter-regional science and technology centre of European signifi cance is being established in the South Moravian city of Brno. The centre will contribute to enhancing the perception of Brno as a city of education and innovation. The institutions that are taking part in the project are a clear guarantee of its success. Together with Masa-ryk University and Brno University of Technology, other Brno-based universities, the Academy of Sciences and one research institution are applying for aid in the amount of nearly CZK 5.3 billion.

Since the beginning, the unique concept of the Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC) has been based on combining life sci-ences with advanced materials and technologies. This combination is bringing about the establish-ment of a centre of outstanding science whose vision is to contribute to improving the quality of life and human health. Within CEITEC scientists will comprehensively explore problems, from the

atomic level through complex structures and from single cells through plants to the human body.

Excellent research will be conducted here, while postgraduate and postdoctoral instruction will be provided in the areas of nanotechnology and microtechnology, structural biology, genomics and proteomics with overlap into advanced mate-rials and biomedicine.

CEITEC should be steered toward a position among Europe’s top science centres by an interna-tional management team. With the assistance of an international science council, the centre’s adminis-trators will introduce management rules that have already been proven in recognised science centres. One of the important tools in this area will be regu-larly scheduled evaluations of the science conduct-ed at the centre in the form of comparison with top-level science facilities around the world, i.e. peer review, which will guarantee CEITEC’s long-term adherence to the highest standards in the area of R&D and continual, targeted selection as well as support for prospective sectors and productive research teams and promising science workers.

The high standard of scientifi c work and renowned specialists, together with modern labo-ratories featuring state-of-the-art equipment will be a motivating factor also in the application of the principles of promoting international mobility. The entry of foreign specialists and doctoral students into CEITEC and the secondment of Czech spe-cialists abroad will bring further international expe-rience and help to attract new, high-quality science workers and thus increase the centre’s prestige.

A matter of key importance for the centre’s future is its association with commercial enti-

The Central European Institute of Technology The Central European Institute of Technology combines life sciences with advanced materials combines life sciences with advanced materials and technologiesand technologies

Visualisation of the Masaryk University campus in Bohunice

Laboratory, Masaryk University

ties, which will offer open communication and clearly defi ned rules for cooperation on research projects, especially on contractual and collabo-rative research, and for leasing of infrastructure as well as other forms of cooperation. CEITEC is already in contact with more than two hundred companies within as well as outside of the Czech Republic and has a commitment for cooperation in the value of CZK 1.6 billion for the period after the centre becomes fully operational. The newly built core facility comprising shared laboratories equipped with state-of-the-art devices and tech-nologies will play a signifi cant role in cooperation with commercial partners.

The newly established position of commer-cial director and the marketing team will place emphasis on gaining international partners in vari-ous industrial sectors. CEITEC will be a world-class centre and thus the direction of the research that will be conducted there must correspond to the latest trends.

The international character of the centre pre-supposes cooperation with fi rms having a global format, which among other things signifi cantly underscores Brno’s position as a city of innovation and technological progress.

Construction of the initial laboratories will com-mence in 2011 and the centre will be in full opera-tion in 2015 at the latest.

More information is available at www.ceitec.cz

Jana ŠilarováPR and Communication Manager

CEITEC

10

research for private entities. They plan to fi nance the remaining two-thirds with Czech and international grants.

The NETME project has gained the confi -dence of an international panel of experts that evaluated projects requesting aid from the European Union intended for the establishment of top centres of excellence. NETME received the best evaluation among 44 competing pro-posals from Czech universities and research institutions.

“We will not develop anything that cannot be used in practice. Companies will order research and development. This will mainly involve trade in patents, processes and technologies,” Stehlík concludes. “Mechanical engineering has a grand tradition in the Czech Republic, espe-cially in Brno and its surroundings, so I am con-vinced that the NETME Centre project will be successful.”

ed.

A centre for research and development of new technologies for mechanical engineer-ing (NETME Centre) is being established in Brno at a cost of CZK 250 billion (nearly EUR 35 million). Even though the centre has not been built yet, it has attracted a contractual interest of more than a hundred fi rms ranging from small enterprises to major multinational corporations.

“We prepared the project over a period of three and a half years,” explains Petr Stehlík, head of the NETME project. “Within NETME, we have combined the best aspects offered by established research teams, who are predomi-nantly from the Mechanical Engineering Faculty at the Brno University of Technology. The new laboratories will provide spaces for new tech-nologies, new research and, mainly, new mo-tivation for the upcoming generation of much needed engineers.”

The NETME Centre will comprise fi ve divi-sions: the Energy, Process and Ecology Division; Aerospace and Automotive Technology Division; Mechatronics Division; Virtual Design and Testing Division; and the Progressive Metallic Materials Division. Construction of the new laboratories began in mid-2010. According to the university’s projections, the project will employ approximately 150 top-rate researchers.

It has been mentioned that there will be no new construction on a greenfi eld outside the current university complex in Brno. The cen-tre’s main building will be located on the sight

of an obsolete older structure. Besides other workstations, the building will house the indus-trial laundry of the future, which will be set up so that it consumes less energy and produces less waste water, thus making it more environ-mentally friendly. Another, smaller building will contain a testing facility for drop tests involving experiments in the aerospace division. Equip-ment for processing metals using electron beams will later be installed in one of the com-pletely renovated testing facilities.

Everything should be ready and in full op-eration by 2014. According to the researchers’ plans, installation of new technologies should begin in 2012. However, Petr Stehlík men-tions that the actual research will begin much sooner: “Like the building itself, we’re not building the team – which is of key importance for NETME – on a greenfi eld. We are starting a new project, but from the beginning we are building on other projects that have been run-ning successfully at BUT for a long time. Thus, NETME will incorporate a range of research projects on which we are cooperating with pri-vate companies.”

“We are betting that with support from the European Union, we can engage in big invest-ments at a time when others are being forced to cut back. I am convinced that a lot of very interesting research projects – and people – will be drawn to NETME because of this,” says Stehlík. The directors of NETME calcu-late that perhaps one-third of the new centre’s operating costs will be covered by contractual

>> Sector Focus

New engineering centre New engineering centre taking shape in Brnotaking shape in Brno

Visualisation of the NETME Centre

Visualisation of the NETME Centre

11

FNUSA-ICRC is being prepared by St. Anne’s University Hospital Brno in coopera-tion with investigators from well respected Czech and foreign academic institutions such as Mayo Clinic. The aim of the project is to create a leading international center for applied medical research; a multifunc-tion unit combining the following elements:

■ new generation of research and development center, based on flexible laboratories and dynamic teams■ state-of-the-art center for public healthcare■ international educational center, disseminating the latest knowledge and methods to healthcare professionals■ technology cluster, creating excellent conditions for collaboration with industry

The close link between a newly-conceived model of medical research and education and healthcare based on international interdiscipli-nary collaboration makes it possible to create a qualitatively new unit with a high added value.

PartnersThe project is being prepared with a number

of international partners, such as Mayo Clinic (USA, the main partner), University College London (UK), Medical University of Gdansk (Po-land), University of Milano (Italy), University of Minnesota (USA) and Czech partners, including the University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Czech Technical University in Prague, Brno University of Technology, Masa-ryk University and Institute of Scientifi c Instru-ments of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. Companies such as Sanofi -Aventis, St. Jude Medical and GE Healthcare have also expressed their interest in collaborative research.

Research ProgramsTo fulfill the goal and vision of the project,

thus improving healthcare and quality of life, two research programs are designed. They are aimed at research and development of new methods, technologies, drugs and proce-dures of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular and neurological diseases. This unique research is supported by interna-tional educational programs and creation of multidisciplinary platforms.

ed.

>> Sector Focus

St. Anne’s University Hospital Brno - International Clinical Research Center (FNUSA-ICRC)

Novel Platform for International Collaboration in Advanced Medical Research

A. CARDIO Program: Development of novel strategies for early detection and advanced treatment of cardiovascular diseases

Subprograms:CARDIO I: Cardiovascular and transplant surgery, heart failure treatment and transplant programs – development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategiesCARDIO II: Interventional cardiology and acute coronary syndromes – development of novel strategies for early detection and advanced treatmentCARDIO III: Cardiac electrophysiology and pacing – development of advanced diagnostic and therapeutic strategies CARDIO IV: Cardiovascular and metabolic disorders – identifi cation of novel risk factors and development of therapeutic methodsCARDIO V: Non-invasive cardiovascular imaging – development of novel methods and technologiesCARDIO VI: Development of novel methods and interventions to reduce risk factors and cardiovascular diseases in the general populationCARDIO VII: Tissue engineering in cardiovascular research

B. NEURO Program: Development of novel strategies for early detection and advanced treatment of neurological diseases

Subprograms:NEURO I: Cerebrovascular disease – development of novel strategies for early detection and advanced treatmentNEURO II: Neuroepidemiology (with pilot projects of stroke and dementia)NEURO III: Development of advanced neuroimagingNEURO IV: Multiple sclerosis – development of novel strategies for early detection and advanced treatment

C. Research Platform: Integrated multidisciplinary platform for experimental medicine and biotechnology

Subplatforms:P1 – AC: Animal CenterP2 – CBCE: Center of Bio-molecular and Cellular EngineeringP3 – ICCT: Integrated Center of Cellular Therapy and Regenerative MedicineP4 – BME: Center of Biomedical EngineeringP5 – CMI: Center of Molecular ImagingP6 – CPU: Clinical Pharmacology Unit

Visualisation of the International Clinical Research Center

12 >> AFI Insight

Act No. 215/2004 Coll. Amending Certain Relationships within the Area of State Aid and Amending the Act on the Support of Research and De-velopment (“Act on State Aid”) and Act No. 218/2000 Coll. on Budgetary Rules and on Amendments to Some Related Acts (“Budgetary Rules”). The legislation applicable to OPRDI is very extensive. Support is granted under the Budgetary Rules and the Act on the Support of Research and Development.

Granting and using supportSupport including infrastructure support and large infrastructure sup-

port may be granted only as purpose-bound or institutional support in the extent and under the conditions stipulated by the Act on the Support of Research and Development. Purpose-bound support may be granted for a grant project, programme project, specifi c university research or large infrastructure. Institutional support may be granted, for example, for long-term conceptual development of a research institution, international cooperation, operational programmes or parts thereof, and for arrang-ing tenders and commissioning public contracts in the areas of research, development and innovations.

The ministry decides to grant subsidies within the operational pro-gramme. The legal act under which funds are granted to the recipient of the subsidy is the decision to grant a subsidy. The essential elements of the decision are set out in the Budgetary Rules, and the provisions of the subsidy grant agreement of the Act on the Support of Research and Development also apply. Support may be granted only for eligible costs. Ineligible costs must be covered by the subsidy recipient from its own funds.

Within the project the recipient is bound by the submitted project ap-plication and the subsequent decision. Documents including other meth-odological documents and the provisions of the relevant European and Czech legislation set out the recipient’s obligations. The observance of obligations by the recipient is a condition for using the subsidy under the OPRDI. Though the project may be changed, the recipient is authorised to implement only the approved project changes; the recipient must no-tify the provider of the changes within seven calendar days of the day when the recipient ascertained them.

Purpose-bound support may be used to cover the recognised costs of research, development and innovations carried out by the recipient or another party to the project which are the subject-matter of the agree-ment. When assets are acquired, only the part of the acquisition costs which corresponds to the planned use of the assets for the purpose of the relevant activity may be included in the eligible costs. Institutional support may be used by the recipient to cover the costs of the activities of other research organisations if such activities are the subject-matter of coop-eration between the research institutions under a written agreement.

If the project does not specify the objective of the service or the ac-quisition of assets in detail, the recipient acts in accordance with the Act on Public Contracts. The regulation concerning the content of the agree-ment under the Act on the Support of Research and Development applies proportionally to agreements on the performance public contracts under the Act on Public Contracts.

In connection with granted institutional support and other activities subsidised from public funds, the recipient must keep separate records of expenses incurred under the Act on Accounting. The records must

The Operational Programme Research and Development for Innova-tions (OPRDI) was implemented for public institutions in the industrial re-search and development sector. The aim of the programme is to develop cooperation between universities and industrial enterprises, to support research and development at universities and research institutions, and to highlight supply and demand in the research and development sec-tor. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic (www.msmt.cz) is charged with managing the programme. Knowledge of certain basic principles is useful when using subsidies in compliance with the stipulated rules.

In Europe, the rules of the European Union structural funds and the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Union govern subven-tions for research and development. The relevant European legislation on state subsidies also applies to the use of the subsidies. In the Czech Republic, the basic legislation is Act No. 130/2002 Coll. on the Support of Research and Development from Public Funds and on Amendments to Some Related Acts (“Act on the Support of Research and Development”),

Legal Aspects of the Subsidy Process Legal Aspects of the Subsidy Process in Connection with the Operational Programme in Connection with the Operational Programme

Research and Development for InnovationsResearch and Development for Innovations

Illustrative photo

13>> AFI Insight

Pavel JakabPETERKA & PARTNERS

The company is a member of the Association for Foreign Investment

(AFI). More information is available at www.afi .cz.

Contact:

PETERKA & PARTNERSNa Příkopě 15/583, 110 00 Praha 1, Czech Republic

Phone: +420 246 085 300www.peterkapartners.com

refl ect expenses covered by the subsidy. The recipient determines the manner of keeping the records in compliance with the Act on Accounting. The recipient must open a special bank account for each project.

Ownership of assetsThe recipient is the owner of the assets acquired based on the support.

If more parties to the project acquire the assets, they become the owners of the relevant shares in the assets under the regulation included in the decision to grant a subsidy.

Intellectual property (rights to outputs and exploitation thereof)

The recipient of the subsidy concludes with the user of the outputs an agreement to exploit the outputs and submits it to the provider no later than the project’s completion date. The agreement is based on the regulation of the right of use and the title to the outputs included in the decision to grant a subsidy.

If an output of a public contract may not be protected under intel-lectual property law, the provider is the owner of the output. If an out-put of a public contract may be protected under intellectual property law, the recipient must exercise the right to the outputs, ensure their legal protection and subsequently transfer the ownership right to the provider. The recipient is entitled to compensation for related justifi ed costs unless they are included in the eligible costs of the project.

The rights to outputs from an activity which is not a public contract are held by the recipient. The disposal of outputs by a recipient which is a legal entity is governed by an internal regulation. If outputs are fully funded from public funds, the recipient is obliged to arrange access to all entities interested in their exploitation under conditions identical to the conditions defi ned in the agreement to exploit outputs. Preferential access to outputs must be granted under the agreement to exploit out-puts to private entities which partly fund the outputs. The recipient is obliged to offer the unexploited outputs to all interested parties at the market price and under non-discriminatory conditions.

Provision of information and publicityA subsidy may only be granted on the condition that the recipient and

the provider publish accurate information on research and its results through the relevant information system. If data introduced in the infor-mation system do not correspond to the defi nition of data elements and affect the volume of the granted subsidy, the operator will eliminate them from the system. In the following fi ve years the annual expenses of this provider are reduced by 100 percent of the annual support which would have been granted based on the incorrect data. The provider accordingly reduces the subsidy provided to the recipient which submitted incorrect data to the provider.

Granting subsidies in the European UnionAs OPRDI is funded from the state budget of the Czech Republic and

European Union structural funds, it is subject to European subsidy law and the rules on granting fi nancial resources from EU structural funds. Though a subsidy granted to a research institution (as defi ned in the Act on the Support of Research and Development) for a purpose defi ned by law is not subject to the state-aid regime, knowledge of the rules is es-sential. The recipient of the support which has a contractual relation with other entities may become a provider of the subsidy in relation to the entities and consequently the recipient may grant indirect state aid. This is possible mainly in connection with granting intellectual property rights or providing another value arising from the subsidy. A breach of the rules may result in sanctions, such as the obligation to refund the subsidy. Un-der European legislation and the Act on State Aid, the Commission may investigate the observance of these rules in the Czech Republic. Providers and recipients are obliged to cooperate. If the Commission decides on

a refund or an interlocutory refund of the state aid, the recipient is obliged to refund the public subsidy to the provider plus related interest.

Inspection and monitoringThe provider is obliged to inspect whether the projects’ goals are

achieved, including the use and exploitation of the subsidy, and whether the costs incurred in relation to the projects are purpose-bound. The re-cipient must allow the inspection. An inspection is always carried out after the project is completed, though if the subsidy is granted over more than two years, the provider must carry out the inspection at least once during the implementation of the project. In addition, the project is continuously monitored based on predetermined monitoring criteria.

Penalty for breach of obligationsIllegitimate granting, use or withholding of support revealed during

the inspection, monitoring or in other manner is considered a breach of budgetary discipline under the Budgetary Rules and can be sanctioned by a deduction paid to the relevant local fi nancial authority and cor-responding to a percentage of the total subsidy defi ned in the decision in each individual case. If other conditions pertaining to the relevant percentage defi ned in the decision are not observed, the total of the percentage applies; however, the deduction for a breach of budgetary discipline may not exceed the subsidy paid on the day when budgetary discipline was breached. One one-thousandth of the deduction for each day in default is charged for the delayed payment, though only up to the amount of the deduction. The procedure described above is ap-plied when the rules for granting a subsidy in the EU are breached. The relevant contractual arrangements and the Commercial Code apply to a breach of obligations arising from the agreement to exploit outputs. In addition, if the obligations defi ned in the Act on the Support of Research and Development, the conditions of the decision to grant a subsidy and the conditions of the agreement to exploit outputs are not observed by the recipient, the provider may exclude the project submitted by the recipient from the tender concerning research, development and inno-vations for a maximum of three years from the day when the recipient’s breach was proven or when the recipient acknowledged it.

14 >> AFI Insight

in the service agreement, the eventual cost saving may not reach the expected level and, in extreme cases, the costs of an external provider can even be higher than when using internal resources. It can also happen that an external fi rm may not have access to all relevant information and an incorrect understanding of the given problem can have impact on the quality of provided services.

A specifi c area of outsourcing are human resources. When deciding to out-source, a company loses control over quality of human resources, and also pos-sibility to develop and motivate employees and thus cannot infl uence their sat-isfaction and the rate of staff turnover. Frequent replacement of employees on the side of a provider will have negative impact on both the provider’s and the customer’s effectiveness and thus on the quality of the provided services.

Provider selection determines successIt is obvious that the success of outsourcing depends directly on selection

of a provider and a correct defi nition of contractual conditions. When choosing a provider of accounting services, it is necessary to consider a length of pro-vider’s presence on the market, a variety of its portfolio of clients, a quality of its employees and their professional and language skills and, of no less importance, references. A high-quality contract on provision of accounting and administra-tive services should contain a clear defi nition of responsibilities, setting of the information-sharing process, specifi cation of the required inputs and outputs and deadlines for delivery thereof. An integral part of a contract should be a calculation of the price and its structure as well as specifi cation of conditions under which it is possible to exceed the price.

Generally, we can conclude that the benefi ts of outsourcing of accounting and administrative services – whether in the form of cost savings or improved results – outweigh the negatives and possible risks.

Risks associated with outsourcing can largely be eliminated by careful selec-tion of the provider, which should be a company that is well established on the market and with extensive experience in providing external services.

Outsourcing can be generally understood as use of external services. This involves management’s strategic decision to transfer running of one or sev-eral company’s processes to an external provider.

The strongest and most frequent reason for transferring the processing of internal functions to external providers is cost saving. On the contrary, nu-merous other important aspects of outsourcing should not be forgotten, such as the impact on quality of provided services, the need for specifi c management skills and the necessity of sharing the company’s know-how with third parties. Therefore, the decision to outsource should be preceded by a detailed analysis, defi nition of benefi ts and identifi cation of weaknesses. Further, such step should comply with the company’s overall strategy.

Using outsourcing of accounting and administrative services as an example, we will demonstrate how such analysis can be approached and on which areas it should be focused.

As mentioned above, the most frequently mentioned advantage of outsourc-ing is cost saving. This involves not only labour costs, but also costs associated with IS/IT and specifi c training of employees, as well as offi ce and equipment costs and personnel costs in the case of recruiting and training new employees. An external provider of accounting services employs a range of specialists in the given fi eld (accounting, tax, reporting, controlling) and is able to cover most areas using its own resources. In case of solving specifi c problems, it is therefore possible to achieve economies of scale. This brings another benefi t – higher-quality results. A provider of accounting services has extensive experience in the given area, has access to information and employs experienced accountants and advisors. In addition, such provider assures substitutability in case of absence of key personnel.

Outsourcing increases the transparency of accounting processesOutsourcing further increases the transparency and verifi ability of the ac-

counting process. An external provider is not dependent on results of the com-pany to which it provides services and is thus less vulnerable to manipulation of books and distortion of results.

Outsourcing is appropriate especially for companies for which externally purchased services do not represent key area of their business. By transferring responsibility for non-core processes, the company frees up resources that can be allocated to its core activity and thus increases the competitiveness on the market.

Some areas that were highlighted above as advantages, can be, when consid-ering from a different point of view, identifi ed also as risks of outsourcing. In case that the fee amount and structure (fi x vs. hourly rate) are not precisely defi ned

Kateřina Nováková, ACCAReporting SeniorASB Prague s.r.o.

The company is a member of the Association for Foreign Investment

(AFI). More information is available at www.afi .cz.

Outsourcing of accounting Outsourcing of accounting and administrative servicesand administrative services

Contact:

ASB PragueV Celnici 1031/4, 110 00 Praha 1, Czech Republic

Phone: + 420 224 931 366/7E-mail: knovakova@asbprague.com

www.asbprague.com

Illustrative photo

16 >> Hot Topic

ence worker’s curriculum vitae, career and track record. However, it will also be taken into account whether this concerns an established science worker or a very promising young scientist who is at the beginning of his or her career but has al-ready achieved excellent results. The aim of this activity is to attract outstanding science workers to the Czech Republic from abroad and to form teams around them that will endeavour to become involved in international scientifi c cooperation and to work at the European and world levels. A con-dition for involvement is that the foreign or reinte-grating scientist must commit at least 50% of his time and effort to the project throughout its entire duration.

The second key activity consists in preparing the involvement of individuals and teams in interna-tional networks and projects in the area of research and development. This rather involves the estab-lishment of strategic partnerships with foreign en-tities and development of cooperation on research projects. Tools for developing cooperation include, for example, organisation of summer schools, con-ferences and various working meetings.

This call also has supplementary activities that are focused on increasing the qualifi cations of team members, particularly in the areas of legislation, intellectual property and project management.

Both of these OPEC calls are focused on im-proving cooperation in research and development as well as on funding, which amounts to CZK 2.125 billion. As the governing body of OPEC, the MEYS anticipates that these opportunities will be taken by existing science and research institutions and universities in the Czech Republic (though outside of Prague, which is not located in a convergence region) as well as by projects fi nanced from the Operational Programme Research and Develop-ment for Innovations (OPRDI). In light of the fact that funding for human resources is very limited within OPRDI, this involves the possibility of effec-tively using a combination of fi nancial instruments while creating synergies between individual opera-tional programmes.

These two calls have already received a very positive response among potential applicants. If the entire allocation is utilised and the projects are of high quality, the MEYS is prepared to subsequently open calls with similar objectives. The MEYS governs both OPEC and OPRDI and is therefore endeavouring to supplement both instruments in order to achieve maximum use of EU resources for the support and advance-ment of research and development in the Czech Republic. However, the main objective remains to support Czech research and develop as effec-tively as possible so that our laboratories become equal partners of the top science facilities in the EU and around the world.

EU Operational Funds Administration Section, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport

Human resources and the development thereof are of key importance for research and develop-ment, as is a properly functioning and – for ca-reers in science – motivating system of tertiary education. For this reason, one of the fi ve axes of the Operational Programme Education for Competitiveness (OPEC) is dedicated exclusively to tertiary education, research and development.

The Operational Programme Education for Competitiveness is a seven-year thematic pro-gramme sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MEYS) within which it is pos-sible to receive fi nancial resources from one of the European Union structural funds in the 2007-2013 programming period. This programme is co-fi nanced by the European Social Fund and the state budget of the Czech Republic. The total al-location for 2007-2013 amounts to EUR 2.151 billion.

OPEC is focused on the area of human resources development through education in all of its diverse forms with emphasis on a comprehensive system of lifelong education, creation of a suitable environ-ment for research, development and innovation activities and stimulation of cooperation among participating entities. This is accomplished through the so-called priority axes. Priority axis 2 is focused exclusively on human resources in tertiary educa-tion, research and development. The preliminary allocation for this axis is EUR 73 million.

Whereas the fi rst two areas of support within axis 2 of OPEC are focused on the development of higher professional schools and innovation of university programmes, the other two are fully oriented toward the development of human re-sources in the area of research and development.

Call 2.4 – Partnership and Networks, which was announced on 26 April 2010 focused on strengthening cooperation between institu-tions of tertiary education, research organi-sations, private-sector entities and the pub-lic administration through internships, which are a key activity of this call. Supplementary

activities include the possible fi nancing of sup-port for educational and training activities leading to the enhancement of cooperation, organisation and participation in seminars and workshops, and support for the development of human resources in technology platforms and technology-oriented clusters.

The call was targeted at internships because this is one of the most effective forms of learning. Au-thorised applicants (e.g. universities, research or-ganisations and other entities defi ned directly in the call) can use internships to establish and develop cooperation with foreign entities as well as with Czech institutions not only in the industrial sector, but also in the academic sphere. It is important to have a coherent concept of cooperation and of the benefi t of internships – these can be for a maxi-mum of one year – for the given entity. Subsequent supplementary activities can serve as support or preparation for establishing cooperation and con-tacts – particularly in the case of special courses focused on, for example, presentation skills, etc. – and for development of cooperation through the organisation of seminars, workshops and themati-cally focused networking events. Unlike earlier calls in this area of support, strong emphasis is placed on direct contact and interaction.

The call for support area 2.3 – Human Resources in Research and Development was announced on 7 June 2010. This call is continual and will conclude in April 2011. The call has a practical orientation, as its fundamental activity consists in the formation and consolidation of teams.

Authorised applicants can decide whether they will engage in both key activities at the same time or choose only one of them. The fi rst key activity consists in the formation and development of a sci-ence and research team around a foreign scientists or a reintegrating Czech scientist. The decisive fac-tor for evaluation will be the quality of the given science worker around whom a new team will be formed or an existing team will be consolidated. This will be assessed on the basis of the given sci-

Operational Programme Education Operational Programme Education for Competitiveness for Competitiveness

contributes to the development contributes to the development of human resources in the area of researchof human resources in the area of research

Illustrative photo

17>> Hot Topic

Technology Agency of the Czech Republic Technology Agency of the Czech Republic – taking stock after half a year– taking stock after half a year

have existing infrastructure for applied research and innovation. Even though the Technology Agency’s ca-pacities were severely limited in the fi rst six months of its existence, four of the six informational seminars focused on the ALFA programme were held outside of Prague. All of the seminars were fully attended by a total of 645 parties interested in support for their applied research and experimental development projects. We are very curious about the extent to which such a “regional approach” would be refl ected in the geographic distribution of the number of appli-cations submitted to the ALFA programme.

A full range of tasks awaits the Technology Agency’s workers in the coming months. Besides the process of evaluating project applications for the ALFA programme and preparation of calls, two more programmes are in preparation for which fund-ing has already been approved from 2012. The fi rst programme should be focused on support for serv-ices involving research, development and innovation intended to satisfy the research needs of state admin-istrative bodies in the form of public procurement. This particularly concerns administrative authorities that have their own fi nancial resources for support-ing research, development and innovation. The pri-mary objective of the second prepared programme is to support applied research in the area of social sciences and application of its results for the balanced socio-economic development of Czech society.

It is clear that in the near future the scope of the Technology Agency’s work will expand rapidly. I am therefore pleased that in future articles over the next several months I will be able to present not only interesting projects whose quality will ensure fi nan-cial support from the ALFA project, but also other programmes aimed at supporting applied research, experimental development and innovation with the assistance of the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic.

Petr HladíkDirector

Technology Agency of the Czech Republic

When the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TACR) began operating at the end of last year (2009), its presidium and employees faced the daunting task of preparing the fi rst programme to support applied research. Though this programme was outlined in the preparatory documentation, it was necessary to prepare the fi nal version for ap-proval in the course of only a few short months in order to meet the early 2011 deadline for fi nancing the initial projects from this programme.

The Technology Agency succeeded in accomplish-ing this fundamental task. At the time of writing, the fi rst call of the programme to support applied re-search and ALFA experimental development and in-novation had been concluded. Among other things, this brought about intensive preparatory works, preparation of documents and the information sys-tem, recruitment and training of opponents, and various informational and promotion activities. At this time, the assessment of formal prerequisites has been carried out for all of the more than 650 projects sub-mitted within the deadline. In my view, the fact that after only six months in existence the initial call of the very fi rst programme attracted such a large number of applicants is a success for the Technology Agency. There is a full range of facts that infl uenced the result-ing number of submitted project applications. Many of these are based on the decisions and activities of the Technology Agency’s employees, and I would therefore like to dedicate at least a few lines to our work in the Agency’s fi rst six months in existence.

It is clear that the creation of the ALFA pro-gramme would not have been possible in such a short time without the intensive work of both the employees of the Technology Agency and the members of its presidium, as well as that of a range of external collaborators who worked very closely with each other on the programme’s es-tablishment. In order to meet all of the required deadlines, the Technology Agency’s presidium met three or four times a month and this pace set the rhythm for the other work activities.

The Technology Agency of the Czech Republic is governed in its work by the principle of openness, which is refl ected in the high rate of cooperation and communication with the relevant ministries and other national institutions. This cooperation is basically con-ducted in two different ways. The fi rst consists in co-operation realised through the active participation of specialists from these institutions in various working groups established by the Technology Agency. The second form of cooperation consists in the involve-ment of particular specialists involved in preparatory works together with employees of the Technology Agency.

That the Technology Agency’s employees place emphasis on the highest-quality and fairest project-evaluation process is a matter of course. The rules for evaluating projects are formulated so that this process is maximally transparent, which is aided by, for example, electronic assignment of opponents to individual projects. It is impossible to achieve a high-quality project-evaluation process without high-qual-ity opponents, and work with opponents is there-fore at the centre of the TACR employees’ interest. An example of this is the rule that the evaluation of projects within the ALFA programme will be under-taken only by those opponents who have undergone the relevant training within the ALFA programme in order to achieve a balanced and uniform approach to evaluating project applications. The Technology Agency has prepared four trainings led by members of the TACR presidium and completed by a total of 536 opponents. In addition to the aforementioned measures focused on ensuring a high-quality process of evaluating project applications, we can mention that the composition of the ALFA programme council is in accordance with the strict legislative regulations concerning the prevention of bias on the part of the council’s members.

In order to ensure better general awareness, the Technology Agency is endeavouring to dispatch po-tential project implementers and opponents from its headquarters to the regions, particularly those that

Illustrative photo

18 >> Events

research projects. Research and technical education are among my key priorities. The future of Czech industry and its sustained competitiveness lie in sectors with high added value, for which cooperation in the field of research between universities and companies is of fundamental importance,” said Minister of Industry and Trade Martin Kocourek during the awards presentation.

“We would like to raise awareness about the practical impacts of research and de-velopment in the form of innovations, and to support the creation of applied results while motivating universities and the ap-plication sphere toward intensive coopera-tion and implementation of joint projects in the area of research and development,” said Kamil Blažek, Chairman of the Steer-ing Committee of the Association for For-eign Investment. “Therefore, we want to continue bringing together universities’ research capacities with potential business partners, companies in the area of venture capital, and to further support technology transfer and the development of spin-offs.”

“Research teams and universities will be decisive in the matter of whether the coun-try will make a successful transition to the advanced knowledge economy. Our goal is to publicise their successes and to encour-age more and more companies to invest in research,” said Weston Stacey, executive director of the American Chamber of Com-merce in the Czech Republic.

The purpose of the Cooperation of the Year competition is not only to reward projects implemented through cooperation

The Association for Foreign Investment and the American Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic have announced the best joint research projects conducted by universities and the application sphere within the first annual Cooperation of the Year competition.

Minister of Industry and Trade Martin Ko-courek presented the top award to the De-partment of Physical Electronics of the Nat-ural Sciences Faculty at Masaryk University and the company Tonak for the practical ap-plication of non-isothermic electrical plas-ma in the production of felt. The winning project received a prize of CZK 100,000. The second-place award went to the VUT 001 Marabu aircraft project for supporting the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in the civilian sector, which was implemented by the Aerospace Institute of the Mechanical Engineering Faculty at Brno University of Technology and První brněnská strojírna Velká Bíteš, Jihlavan Airplanes and PLAS-TSERVIS-L from the private sector. Third place was taken by the Department of Cy-bernetics of the Electrical Engineering Fac-ulty at the Czech Technical University and the company Neovision for their design of a robot for cleaning air-conditioning ducts using dry-ice blasting. This project also re-ceived a special prize from the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic, which sup-ported the Cooperation of the Year com-petition in conjunction with CzechInvest. The partners of the first annual competi-tion were 3M Česko and Hewlett-Packard, while general partnership was provided by

Československá obchodní banka, whose headquarters hosted the awards ceremony.

Cooperation of the Year is a competition organised by the Association for Foreign In-vestment (AFI) and the American Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic (Am-Cham). The purpose of the competition is to reward and promote the best joint projects conducted by universities and the application sphere in the area of research and development leading to innovation. An assessment committee composed of representatives of academic and scien-tific institutes, the application sphere, the American Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic, the AFI, Ministry of Indus-try and Trade, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, CzechInvest and the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic evaluated a full range of criteria when selecting the winners. In the competition’s first year, 24 projects were entered by a total of 12 uni-versities and 27 companies. The commit-tee evaluated primarily factors such as the scope and impact of the projects’ output (utility model, prototype, patent, technol-ogy, means of actual use), financial volume, the course of cooperation including the par-ticipation of the private entities’ employees in actively carrying out tasks and, of course, the projects’ benefits and impact at the re-gional and international levels. The winning projects represent one of the means of de-veloping Czech business and a path toward development of the knowledge economy.

“I am pleased that I have the honour of presenting awards for the best applied-

First annual Cooperation of the Year awards First annual Cooperation of the Year awards recognise the best research projectsrecognise the best research projects

Winners of the first annual Cooperation of the Year awards

19

The winning projects

>> Events

is logical that we want to support this com-petition. I think that cooperation between successful companies and universities should be standard in modern society,” says Jiří Vévoda, head of Human Resources and Transformation at ČSOB.

“The special price that we presented in this competition is based on one of the key missions of the Technology Agency, which is to support effective communication and cooperation be-tween research organisations and the application sector,” explains Martin Bunček, member of the board of the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic. “The combination of the top-level knowledge base of academic institutions with the knowledge of market opportunities and the diffi culty of proprietary development on the part of companies leads not only to effective use of research and development results, but also to the increased competitiveness of Czech fi rms.”

ed.

plane designed and built in the Czech Republic in academic facilities, whereas several repre-sentatives of the Czech aviation industry were in-volved in the project and will participate in future production.

Robot for cleaning air-conditioning du-cts

Third place was awarded to a project involving the development of a robot for cleaning air-con-ditioning ducts using dry-ice blasting. The Centre for Machine Perception of the Department of Cybernetics, part of the Electrical Engineering Faculty of the Czech Technical University, and

the company Neovision cooperated closely on the robot’s design and construction. These two partners have been working together for sev-eral years. The project is a demonstration of how cooperation with the academic sphere helps a company in the development of its business. Neovision’s current activity can be characterised as custom production of highly specialised high-tech instruments. The robot, called “Jetty”, is the company’s fi rst product with potential for series production and thus offers an opportunity for Neovision’s further growth.

between universities and the application sphere, but primarily to promote such co-operation and raise awareness of successful projects among the public and mass media. A no less important reason for the competi-tion is popularisation of technical fields of study, which have suffered from declining interest in recent years.

The participation of small and medium-sized enterprises is notable among the win-ning projects. Though smaller firms have their own research capacities, schools have much greater possibilities on the theoretical side that can be used by firms. The result is that the private sector gets an opportu-nity to utilise research findings at a much lower cost than when investing in research-ers and software. Cooperation thus leads to the transfer of knowledge from universities into practice as well as to the use of find-ings derived from practice in the university

Technology for improving the feltable properties of fi bres

With nearly 700 employees in Nový Jičín and Strakonice and turnover of approximately CZK 450 million, Tonak is one of the world’s biggest and most important headwear producers. The company’s cooperation with Masaryk Univer-sity, specifi cally Professor Mirko Černák of the

Department of Physical Electronics, led to the development of an economical and ecological technology for improving the feltable properties of rabbit-fur fi bres. The result is a unique tech-nological process in which plasma is used instead of acid to achieve the matting effect necessary in felt production. The process thus involves a dry method without the use of chemicals. Besides environmental advantages, the technology brings energy savings and a more pleasant working en-vironment for employees, and the resulting felt is of higher quality than that produced using the application of acids. In cooperation with Masaryk University, Tonak is patenting this new process in a number of countries on several continents. This traditional producer of headwear has been in operation for 211 years and currently holds roughly one-third of the world’s felt-hat market.

environment. Another significant benefit for schools is the infrastructure of the pri-vate sector, which can ensure the produc-tion of all most necessary components that schools subsequently apply. These are the key factors that will motivate companies and schools to develop cooperation. “The significant involvement of small and medi-um-sized enterprises in systematic coop-eration with universities, which is evident in the projects entered in the competition, indicates the strong innovation potential of such firms. This is necessary not only for the further development of these compa-nies, but also for the further development of the Czech economy,” added Petr Hájek of the Association for Foreign Investment.

“ČSOB supports promising students and helps them to achieve independence and results. Students regularly rate our bank as one of the most desirable employers, so it

The award was presented by Minister of Industry and Trade Martin Kocourek, First Deputy Minis-ter of Education, Youth and Sport Kryštof Hajn, and Jiří Vévoda, Chief Staff Offi cer at ČSOB, who is responsible for human resources and transfor-mation at the bank. Representatives of Tonak and the Department of Physical Electronics received a cheque for CZK 100,000 crowns.

Marabu aircraftMiroslav Křížek, CEO of CzechInvest, and

Jan Fara, Enterprise Sales Manager at Hewlett-Packard, presented the award for second place in the Cooperation of the Year competition to the developers of the Marabu aircraft. The award was accepted by representatives of all partici-pating entities – the Aerospace Institute of Brno University of Technology, První brněnská strojírna Velká Bíteš, Jihlavan Airplanes and PLASTSERVIS-L. The plane’s design notably features a modifi ca-tion required for testing new jet engines with an electronic control system. The aircraft’s use will be highly variable, as it will be possible to install

control and navigation instruments for unmanned fl ight and other special equipment according to the needs of future users. The Marabu is the fi rst

From left: Jiří Vévoda, ČSOB; Kryštof Hajn, MEYS; Mirko Černák, Masaryk University; Roman Štípek, Tonak; Martin Kocourek, MIT

From left: Robert Popela, BUT; Petr Bernát, Jihlavan Airplanes; Miroslav Křížek, CzechInvest; Jan Fara, Hewlett-Packard

from left: Jaroslav Doležal, American Chamber of Commerce; Petr Palatka, Neovision; Jaroslav Smutný, Czech Technical University in Prague; Kamil Blažek, Association for Foreign Investment; David Vrba, 3M

20 >> Events

Czech technology across the worldCzech technology across

Japan – a return homeTokyo, Japan, hosted the fifth annual Czech Technology Days. This

was a return home, as the tradition of the Czech Technology Days be-gan in Japan in 2005. This year 160 representatives of Japanese firms attended the event. They were joined by thirty participants from the Czech Republic.

Today the Czech Republic hosts the fourth-largest number of Japa-nese manufacturing firms in Europe. “Events like the Czech-Japan Tech-nology Days have helped us to achieve such success,” says Alexandra Rudyšarová, CEO of CzechInvest.

“The Czech Republic is one of the most popular European loca-tions among Japanese companies. Last year we conducted a survey among our members which showed that Japanese entrepreneurs consider the Czech Republic as the third-best location for further de-velopment in the five- to ten-year horizon,” emphasises Hiroaki Ishii, vice-president of the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).

The fifth Czech-Japan Technology Days event also brought closer cooperation between the Czech Republic and Japan in the area of space research. The Czech Space Alliance and Japan Aerospace Parts

Association (JASPA) signed an agreement on cooperation. “The sign-ing of this agreement opened up great opportunities for the Czech Republic and Japan in the area of development and production of satellite and aircraft components,” says Y. Senda, president of JASPA. “Such areas can be, for example, satellite navigation, earth monitor-ing, X-ray technology, precision manufacturing and similar fields,” ex-plains Petr Bareš, president of the Czech Space Alliance.

“Investing one crown in development in the Czech Republic pro-vides the same results as investing one dollar in the United States,” said Miroslava Kopicová, Minister of Education, Youth and Sport of the Czech Republic, at the start of the event. “And specific reasons to invest in the Czech Republic? Because we are good.”

India host Technology Days for the first timeA new event in 2010 was the Czech Technology Days in India. The main

topics of the event were robotics, artifi cial intelligence, computer percep-tion, biotechnology, nanotechnology and civilian use of nuclear energy.

The conference was held under the auspices of the Indian Ministry of Science and Research. Individual lectures and seminars were attended

Japan, India, Sweden and France are countries which this year have already seen the Japan, India, Sweden and France are countries which this year have already seen the best that Czech technology has to offer. Together with the Association for Foreign best that Czech technology has to offer. Together with the Association for Foreign Investment (AFI), CzechInvest organised recent editions of the traditional Czech Investment (AFI), CzechInvest organised recent editions of the traditional Czech Technology Days. Technology Days.

21

Contact:

Investment and Business Development Agency CzechInvestŠtěpánská 15, 120 00 Praha, Czech Republic

Phone: + 420 296 342 500E-mail: info@czechinvest.org

www.czechinvest.org, www.czechtechnologydays.org

>> Events

Czech technology across the worldthe world

Czech-Japan Technology Days

Czech Technology Days in India

under the auspices of the Mayo Clinic. Representatives of Elmarco, Farmak and the MedChemBio cluster were also in attendance.

The most important part of the Technology days consisted of meet-ings between individual private companies. “In the areas of nanotech-nology and pharmacy, Sweden is among the best in the world, so we chose these topics for the first Technology Days held there,” explains Alexandra Rudyšarová. “The other main topics of the conference were energy and transfer of technologies from researchers to com-mercial application.”

Lasers focus on FranceThe Technology Days event that took place in France held special

significance, as it was focused solely on laser technology – specifically extreme light infrastructure (ELI), which should be built just outside of Prague and will we the most intense laser in the world. ELI is an international research; the project’s “hardware” – i.e. the laser itself – should be set up in the Czech Republic.

The event was attended by 26 Czech and French firms engaged in the development of new progressive technologies that will enable the construction of ELI Beamlines, the Czech part of the project. It is said that ELI will push the limits of technology significantly forward. However, at this time it cannot be built with the currently avail-able knowledge, and the devices necessary to do so must first be invented.

“Forty academic and science institutions from 13 European coun-tries are cooperating on ELI, making it one of the biggest science projects in Europe,” says Alexandra Rudyšarová, CEO of CzechInvest. “The fact that one of the key elements of the project, ELI Beamlines, is to be built in the Czech Republic is already drawing the attention of the world’s top researchers and biggest technology firms.”

ed.

by up to 250 people and the capacity of the meeting halls was frequently exceeded. The event was attended by Prithviraj Chavan, the Indian feder-al minister of science and research, who expressed strong interest in the agreement on joint innovation projects that the Czech Republic recently concluded with Israel. Discussions on a similar agreement with India were thus commenced.

Technology Days come to SwedenThe first Czech Technology Days event held in Sweden also took

place earlier this year. Forty Czech firms, research institutions and representatives of the state administration took part in the event. A similar number of partners from Sweden and Denmark also par-ticipated.

The Czech delegation was headed by Miroslava Kopicová, Minister of Education, Youth and Sport of the Czech Republic. Ms. Kopicová met with representatives of the Danish Ministry of Education on the topic of education reform, which Denmark recently implemented. Czech participants in the event also included representatives of the International Clinical Research Centre, which was established in Brno

22 >> Region Focus

South Moravia is a rapidly developing region in the southeastern part of the country. The region’s geographically favourable location, highly developed infra-structure, skilled workforce educated at 14 local universities and a long industrial tradition characterised by emphasis on science and research create outstanding conditions for investors.

South Moravia Region – Tremendous innovation potential rooted in tradition and long tradition in industrial production

South Moravia is located in the southeastern part of the Czech Republic. Its area of 7,197 km2 makes it the fourth-largest region in the Czech Republic, whereas it ranks third in terms of population. The region is composed of the ter-ritorial units of Blansko, Brno-city, Brno-province, Břeclav, Hodonín, Vyškov and Znojmo. From the geographic perspective, its location is relatively advantageous due to its position in the historical area that links southern and northern Europe. South Moravia’s southern and eastern boundaries

Basic data

AreaPopulationPopulation density (persons/km2)Unemployment rateAverage incomeRegional capitalSource: Czech Statistical Offi ce and Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Q1 2010

7,197 km2 1,151,708

159.410.34%

20,861 CZK/monthBrno

Olomouc

also form the national border with Austria and Slovakia, respectively.

South Moravia’s historical capital, Brno, is the region’s biggest city and the Czech Republic’s sec-ond-biggest. The city lies at the confl uence of the Svratka and Svitava rivers and its skyline is domi-nated by the unmistakable Špilberk Castle and the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. Brno is an important administrative, educational and cultural centre. It is also the seat of the nation’s highest judicial bodies, including the Constitutional Court and Supreme Court of the Czech Republic as well as other important institutions.

Industrial traditionSouth Moravia is a region of both production ma-

chinery and agricultural land, especially in the south. In light of the industrial tradition of Brno and its

Brno

Lednice

23>> Region Focus

surroundings, manufacturing still holds the domi-nant position in the region’s economy. In the nine-teenth century, Brno even came to be known as the Moravian Manchester thanks to its highly developed textile industry. However, if we look at the present, we will see that the leading posi-tion in the local economy has traditionally been occupied by mechanical engineering, represented by Brno-based fi rms such as Královopolská RIA (power engineering), První brněnská strojírna Brno DIZ (equipment for eco-power generation), ZKL Brno (ball-bearing production) and the trac-tor manufacturer Zetor. Other signifi cant fi rms in the region include Adast of Adamov (printing machines), ČKD Blansko (power engineering), Letovické strojírny, Strojírna Oslavany, NAREX Ždánice (tools), NAVARA Novosedly and TOS Kuřim.

Electrical engineering is similarly represented in the region, which is also the second most signifi -cant IT centre in the Czech Republic. The fi elds of medicine, research and biotechnology also play a leading role in the region.

More than 60% of the region’s area comprises agricultural land, of which 84% is arable. The most commonly cultivated crops are grain (wheat and barley), fruits, vegetables, potatoes, sugar beat and, of course, wine grapes. Viniculture is preva-lent particularly in the Břeclav district, which is home to 46% of all vineyards in the Czech Repub-lic, though Hodonín, Znojmo and, to some extent, Brno-province are known for their local wines.

When we speak of tradition, we must not for-get to mention the Brno Fairgrounds, whose gates were fi rst opened to exhibitors and visitors in 1928. Each year, this site hosts roughly fi fty trade

fairs, of which we should at least mention the In-ternational Engineering Fair, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2008.

Skills and innovation potential Immediately after Prague, South Moravia of-

fers the nation’s second-biggest network of edu-cational institutes. Fourteen universities provide high-quality preparation for future careers to ap-proximately 80,000 students. Local graduates not only comprise a highly skilled workforce, but they also hold enormous potential for the development of science and research applicable in production processes. As such, they are sought-after special-ists and yet another reason for foreign investors to choose South Moravia for their projects. The most sought-after educational institution in South Moravia is Masaryk University in Brno. Compris-ing nine faculties with more than 200 depart-ments, institutes and clinics, MU is the second-biggest university in the Czech Republic. It is also a signifi cant player in the region’s social and cultural life. Austrian Emperor Franz Josef I established South Moravia’s oldest university in 1899: Brno University of Technology, which today offers top-level scientifi c and professional knowledge in eight faculties. A signifi cant part of applied research is initiated directly by domestic and foreign industrial fi rms (Škoda Auto, IBM, ABB, Philips, ČEZ, IMOS, etc.). Mendel University in Brno is the Czech Re-public’s oldest institute of higher learning focused on agriculture and forestry.

The University of Veterinary and Pharmaceuti-cal Sciences in Brno is the only institution in the

Czech Republic offering a study programme in veterinary medicine and one of two offering edu-cation in the pharmaceutical fi eld. The Janáček Academy of Musical Arts in Brno is a leading insti-tution in the area of the arts and humanities.

South Moravia is also a leading region in terms of support for research and innovation. As such, it is home to projects such as NETME Centre, a re-search and development institute focusing on the competitiveness of mechanical engineering and related fi elds; CEITEC (Central European Insti-tute of Technology), CERIT (Centre of Education, Research and Innovation of ICT in Brno), ICRC (International Clinical Research Centre in Brno), and the Regional Innovation Strategy (RIS3).

The development of innovation potential in the region, and thus support for start-ups and inno-vative fi rms, is spearheaded by four incubators: Brno-South Science and Technology Park, VUT Technology Incubator, Technology Incubator II and the INBIT Biotechnology Incubator, which was named the Technology Property of the Year within the prestigious Business Property of the Year 2008 competition.

Transport The region’s appeal is based on its well-

developed transportation infrastructure, which literally opens the region to the world. Brno-Tuřany International Airport offers regu-larly scheduled fl ights to Moscow and Lon-don, among other destinations. Brno itself plays an important role as a central road and railway hub. The D1 highway connects Brno to Prague, 200 kilometres to the northwest. Brno also has highway links to Olomouc (D1)

Company BSS TC Country of origin SectorInvestment

Newly created jobsEUR mil.

IBM Global Services Delivery Center Czech Republic, s.r.o. BSS USA IT and software development 3,53 821

IBM Global Services Delivery Center Czech Republic, s.r.o. BSS USA Electronics 4,06 200

Symbol Technologies Czech Republic, s.r.o. BSS USA Electronics 4,20 542

Monster Worldwide CZ s.r.o. BSS Germany BSS 4,44 600

EMERSON CLIMATE TECHNOLOGIES, s.r.o. TC Netherlands Electrotechnics 5,50 48

BOC Edwards Services s.r.o. BSS Great Britain Engineering 4,49 71

Tyco Integrated Systems s.r.o. TC Luxembourg Electronics 1,16 150

Source: CzechInvest 2010

Technology centres and Bussines support services centres - South Moravia Region

The University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Brno

Lednice

Masaryk University in Brno

24 >> Region Focus

Company Sector Country of origin Investment, EUR mil.

Newly created jobs

Daikin Device Czech Republic s.r.o. engineering Japan 115,49 807

Saint – Gobain Vertex, a.s. other Germany 105,00 182

Hill´s Pet Nutrition Manufacturing, s.r.o. food USA 87,42 123

AISIN AI CZECH s.r.o. manufacture of transport equipment Japan 63,70 305

Celestica Ráječko, s.r.o. electronics + electrical engineering Canada 50,78 812

Lohman & Rauscher s.r.o. chemical and pharmaceutical industry Austria 41,53 166

Qisda Czech s.r.o. electronics + electrical engineering Taiwan 36,94 600

Tyco Electronic Czech s.r.o. electronics + electrical engineering Luxembourg 35,23 1 200

Nitto Denko Czech s.r.o. electronics + electrical engineering Japan 27,68 156

Emerson Climate Technologies s.r.o. electronics + electrical engineering Netherlands 27,66 253

SIAD Czech spol. s r.o. chemical and pharmaceutical Italy 23,73 45

MORAVIAPRESS a.s. paper Austria 18,55 18

HARTMANN - RICO a.s. chemical and pharmaceutical Germany 16,25 300

CCI Czech Republic s.r.o. engineering Great Britain 15,28 170

Lear Corporation Czech s.r.o. manufacture of transport equipment Luxembourg 13,78 70

Ohmori Technos Czech s.r.o. engineering Japan 13,58 150

DAIDO METAL CZECH s.r.o. engineering Japan 13,11 91

IG Watteeuw ČR s.r.o. engineering Belgium 12,76 210

Siemens Electric Machines s.r.o. electronics + electrical engineering Germany 12,32 109

Honeywell, spol. s r.o. engineering USA 12,03 326

Source: CzechInvest 2010

Selected investors - Manufacturing - South Moravia Region

and the Slovak capital, Bratislava (D2), as well as Vienna, Austria (R52, E461). Rail transport also plays an important role. Modern, com-fortable Pendolino trains have been in serv-ice on the Prague-Brno-Břeclav-Vienna route since 2005.

Where to go, what to seeIf you ask any Czech what is essentially con-

nected with South Moravia, the answer will surely be wine. The region is the Czech Repub-lic’s biggest producer of fi ne wines at the Eu-ropean level. Small wineries in the south of the region have a particular magic. Integral aspects of the region’s identity are its quaint wine cel-lars with vaulted ceilings and decorative doors, as well as its rich folklore. South Moravia offers countless historical and cultural sightseeing

opportunities, including four UNESCO World Heritage sites: Lednice-Valtice Cultural Land-scape, Tugendhat Villa, Pavlovské vrchy lime-stone formations and the White Carpathian Biosphere Reservation, which forms the re-gion’s natural eastern border. Central Europe’s most expansive system of caverns, Moravský kras, is located north of Brno.

The local countryside offers numerous op-portunities for active relaxation, with many interesting sites accessible by bicycle. Winding trails allow visitors to experience both histori-cal sights as well as the region’s natural beauty, including Podyjí, one of the Czech Republic’s four national parks.

Golfers will also feel right at home, as the region features top-rate courses, such as Austerlitz in Slavkov u Brna, Kaskáda in

Why invest in South Moravia?

• Favourable location

• Highly developed transportation infrastructure – international airport

• Universities, international schools – skilled workforce

• Industrial tradition

• R&D hub

• Business-support tools

• Prepared industrial zones (e.g. Czech Technology Park, Černovická terasa Industrial Zone in Brno)

• High-standard urban environment

Jinačove u Brna, and Kořenec in the pastoral Drahanská vrchovina.

Another top sports and entertainment facility is Automotodrom Brno, whose Masaryk Circuit is the site of many signifi cant car and motorcycle racing series and the annual Czech Grand Prix.

Lucie KuljovskáBrno Regional Offi ce

CzechInvestTugendhat Villa

25>> Living Czech

Monet to Warhol Monet to Warhol Masterworks from the Albertina Museum and Batliner Collection13 October 2010 – 7 January 2011National Gallery in PragueCollection of Modern and Contemporary ArtVeletržní Palace, 1st fl oor of the East WingExhibit concept: Klaus Albrecht Schröder, Tomáš Vlček, Olga UhrováCurators: Olga Uhrová, Tomáš Vlček

One of the most important European art collections, belonging to Rita and Herbert Batliner, will soon be on display at the National Gallery in Prague together with works from the Albertina Museum. The ex-hibit will feature eighty works of modern art including a selection of pivotal pieces ranging from the beginning of the 20th century to the fi rst decade of the 21st century. The Batliner Collection was compiled over nearly half a century, beginning with its owners’ interest in the works of contemporary artists and la-ter enriched with valuable works by masters of classic modern art. In recent decades, the collectors’ interest has been predominantly focused on activities in the world of contem-porary art. For Herbert Batliner, building up a collection of artworks is not in itself the only goal. Rather, it should serve for the better understanding of art. Therefore the Batliner Collection, which contains 300 works, has

been on display at the Albertina Museum in Vienna since 2007.

The selection of displayed works from the Batliner Collection and the Albertina Museum includes famous pieces such as Water Lilies

by the leading impressionist Claude Monet, paintings by the Fauvists Henri Matisse and Pierre Bonnard, German expressi-onists Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Ale-xei Jawlensky, Russian avant-gardists

Claude Monet: Water-Liles (the detail), 1917 - 1919 (oil on canvas, 100 x 200 cm)

Andy Warhol: Electric Chair, 1971 (seriography, 89,9 x 121,6 cm)

26 >> Living Czech

and abstractionists El Lissitzky, Kazimir Malevich and Wassily Kandinsky, and sur-realists René Magritte and Max Ernst. From the post-war period, the exhibi-ted works include pieces by prominent European and American artists such as Jean Dubuffet, Yves Klein, Lucio Fontana, Francis Bacon, Morris Louis, Roy Lichtenstein, Jim Dine and Andy Warhol, as well as contem-porary artists Anselm Kiefer, Alex Katz, Arnulf Rainer, Gerhard Richter, Solomon LeWitt and others. The selection of works from the Batliner Collection to be display-ed in Prague does not include paintings by Pablo Picasso or František Kupka, as these artists are already relatively well represen-ted at the National Gallery.

That the exhibit under the name Masterworks from the Albertina Museum and Batliner Collection is being realised in Prague is partly the result on long-term co-operation between the Albertina and the National Gallery. However, the project also refl ects the revival of the intellectual traditi-on of the Austro-Hungarian region that was home to such signifi cant personalities as Gustav Mahler, Adolf Loos, Sigmund Freud, Franz Kafka and many others.

Monet to Warhol – Masterworks from the Albertina Museum and Batliner Collection is an important event in the Czech cultural environment due to the fact that the pre-sentation of extensive collections of modern art was severely restricted here from 1948 to 1989, except during the Prague Spring of 1968 and a few exhibits in the 1980s, particularly the exhibit Foundations of Mo-dern Art from the Guggenheim Collection (1988). The changed situation following the Velvet Revolution in 1989 made it possible for Czech galleries and museums to present important monographic and group exhibits, often in cooperation with foreign cultural institutions. The current presentation at the National Gallery is intended to continue this progress and to allow the Czech and foreign public to follow the development of modern art in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Batliner CollectionRita and Herbert Batliner have been

collecting art for nearly half a century. At the beginning, they focused especially on works of their contemporaries and Alberto Giacometti, and works by masters of clas-sic modern art soon followed. Over the past two decades, the Batliners have fo-cused their interest on contemporary art and have built up an extraordinary col-lection which includes top works by ar-tists such as Claude Monet, Paul Signac, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Max Ernst, Francis Bacon and Yves Klein, as

well as contemporary artists Alex Katz, Gerhard Richter, Anselm Kiefer and Georg Baselitz. In connection with the growing interest in more recent contemporary art, Herbert Batliner has stated that col-lecting art is not a goal in itself, but rather of means of improving the understanding art.

Herbert and Rita Batliner permanently transferred their collection to the Albertina Museum as a bequest at the beginning of 2007.

Olga Uhrová,National Gallery in Prague

Francis Bacon: Seated figure 1960 (oil on canvas 152,5 x 119,5 cm)

27>> Events

Časopis Czech Focus je vydáván Sdružením pro zahraniční investice - AFI jakožto jeden z nástrojů pro aktivní podporu rozvoje čes-kého podnikatelského prostředí a konkuren-ceschopnosti České republiky na poli zahra-ničních investic. Tato publikace nabízí svým čtenářům výjimečnou mozaiku témat mapu-jících české investiční prostředí a představovat

Českou republiku jako atraktivní lokalitu, která nabízí vstřícné obchodní podmínky i vysokou kvalitu života. Ke každému číslu jsou jako au-toři přizvání odborníci napříč českou busine-ss, vědeckou i úřednickou komunitou, čímž se pod záštitou AFI vytváří naprosto ojedinělá komunikační a informační platforma. Časo-pis je vydáván jednou za čtyři měsíce zdarma

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28

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